Originally Posted by
AdelaaR
You don't need "studies" for this sort of relatively simple analysis.
One can quite easily model what is going on and all kinds of online calculators can easily give you the answers, as mentioned before in this thread.
Being earo will always make you faster, at any speed.
The faster you go, the bigger the relative difference will be.
You're absolutely right about the simple analysis. Let's assume these aero improvements correspond to a percentage change in drag coefficient. Velocity is Power divided by Force. The aerodynamic force will change linearly with drag coefficient. So for the 25 mph rider at constant power his time will be proportional to drag coefficient. Similarly for the 20 mph rider, but the 20 mph rider is going slower hence the time saved, a fixed percentage, will be greater.
This may be counter-intuitive, but it's the result of that first order analysis we're talking about.
A slow rider of course isn't going to wear a skin suit for its very small percentage improvement, but would benefit greatly from an improved position.
I haven't found an online calculator that will let the user vary drag coefficient directly, but the better ones permit entering rider position which should yield a similar result.